Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

One of my absolute favorite type of blogs or websites are ones dedicated to discarded and found photos. Black and white, color, Polaroid, blurry, damaged or off center, all found photos are magical to me. The questions that arise from each one. The stories that can be written. I recently bought a small stack of old black and whites at the flea market, they are curled at the edges but I love them all the same.

They've run ashore.

I wonder where they are, if it’s a lake or a small river. I imagine that it’s a summer cottage and this couple owns it. They spend the whole summer at the cottage and most weekends they have guests and they play bridge in the evenings. They drink black coffee and Sloe Gin Fizz. She has a passion for shooting targets while he aspires to be an accomplished apiarist.

This past weekend was the annual Lincoln Highway Buy-Way Yard Sale. I was not able to make it this year but I did go last year for the first time and it was such a blast that I have to share my experience. It is a multi-state yard sale that follows the Lincoln Highway (which was the first road across America,) originally connecting New York City and San Francisco. The Buy-Way starts in West Virginia and follows the road through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. All along the route are yard sales, garage sales and flea markets. It is a bargain shopper and treasure hunter’s dream.

There is another multi-state yard sale that happens the same weekend. It runs north to south and is called the 127 Sale or World’s Longest Yard Sale. The two sales meet in Van Wert, Ohio where Route 30 crosses Route 127. I plan on checking this one out next year and utilizing the things I learned from last year’s two day shopping spree between East Liverpool and East Canton, Ohio.

Still in the package, always a score!

One important lesson I learned is to take more photos. Another is to not be lured by the signs for yard sales off the main road. This is a huge time waster. Unless the sign indicates how far down the side street the sale is or if you can actually see it with your own eyes, don’t bother. My shopping partner, Connie and I lost precious hunting time driving up to 5 miles down country roads only to find a garage full of kid’s clothes. What a letdown that can be.

One of the highlights include the consistent selection of quality items for less than one quarter. So many items were priced at a dime and a nickel…you just can’t beat that. I even encountered some free boxes!

My best finds include: 2 old Schlitz drinking glasses, one for 25¢ and one for 5¢; 2 1970’s Tiger Beats for a quarter; 1 oval plate that says “The Happy Steak” on it and 1 Ice-O-Mat vintage ice crusher.

Check out my score! This is just the first days treasures. Notice the yellow canister… it is and old picnic thermos. It’s closure is similar to vintage mason jars with glass lids. It is a very secure seal which I put to the test over the past year. I stored sugar in it last August and then left it on a boat that was dry docked on the shore of Lake Erie all winter. We opened it up two weeks ago and the sugar was still dry and untouched! Impressive.

Another highlight or lowlight was stopping to stay at The Moon Mist Motel. Connie had never stayed in an actual roadside motel before and I’m glad I got be there for her first experience. Actually, we didn’t stay….but 10 minutes was enough. Fortunately the desk clerk knew we weren’t the right customers

There was a key pad instead of a key. Our room number was 9, guess what the code was?

for this establishment, she gave us our money back with no problem and we hightailed it out of there. That large piece of wood in the above photo is covering a the hole from the original window which has been replaced with a much smaller one. The curtain was cut off at the bottom. But don’t worry, they didn’t waste it, they stapled over the bathroom window. Look out Martha Stewart, you’ve got nothing on The Moon Mist.

I don't even have to explain to you what was on the TV when we turned it on, do I?

If you are a bargain hunter with stamina I would recommend trying this. I will be planning ahead for this next year and saving up my change!

This is a sample case for a company that sells knobs and switches. I would have loved to buy this but it wasn't in the budget or on the agenda.

I was at one of my favorite surplus and salvage stores last week, doing one of my favorite things, hunting for wonderful treasures. This hunt was a slightly focused one. Halloween was a guideline to any supply purchases.

Near the checkout counter, next to a bin of elastic, I spy a box filled with spools of seam binding. These spools are old. They are hefty. 100 yards hefty! They are only 99 cents and they come in several colors. The shades are not bright. Some are saturated and some are muted but all are wonderful. The quality of the thin rayon is quite nice and decadent as it looks a lot like silk. I’m quite inspired by the texture, weight, hues and quantity of this ribbon. Oh all the uses I can think of.

Yep, I want them all. I pick only two, in shades that will work for this year’s Halloween costume. See? I’m sticking to the guidelines. One is a deep wine hue and the other is the color of sun worn plum. They give off images of expansive southern porches and cotton chemises. I briefly consider growing my hair long and weaving these ribbons into my braids.

It's wash and wear washable.

There is no date on the label. I’d guess early 1960’s. The first entry on a search of the company, Lawrence Schiff Silk Mills, was the official company website. It’s always nice when researching vintage and old items to see that a company is still in business. I contacted them to inquire about the date of the seam binding. I’ll update if I hear back.

I already used some for a non -seam binding project and enjoyed working with it. Since it was for a Halloween project, I singed the edges over a candle to give it a subtle, aged look. It was fun!

I’m not sure what my next project with the seam binding will be (other than the Halloween guideline) but I do not have a lack of ideas. I suspect that after I use it a few more times that I will have a strong urge to head back to the store to pick up a few more spools, (in different colors of course!)

UPDATE: I heard back from the company but they had no information for me. They said that they could not determine the date of the binding but that they still produced it today. I bet that what they make today is not nearly as wonderful as the old stuff!